Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On February 21, 2023, my company, SRJ Steel, hired R&R Express to deliver steel sheets from my storage facility in Burns Harbor, IN to my customer, MD Welding, in Gordonville, PA. The material was not tarped until it left the building, even though February in NW IN does not typically have nice weather. The shipping location confirmed it was raining when the carrier left the building and did not put the tarp on the steel until outside and uncovered. When the material arrived, the steel sheets were wet. Customer made the error of unloading the truck, hoping the material would be OK under the top sheet. He admits he should have noted the wetness, but was trying to avoid a potential issue by not rejecting the shipment. Pictures were taken right away and he called me to explain the problem. When he opened up the steel sheets to see if the rest of the material was acceptable, he found the rust throughout. My company immediately contacted R&R Express to inform them of the problem. The sales contact I was dealing with, Austin F*****, made the mistake of copying me on an internal email stating "Hahahahaha this guy is a clown". After sharing all the pertinent information, pictures and emails, R&R Express decided to deny our claim with the explanation of "The load was tarped and the bill of lading had no notation of damage". While I agree the BOL did not have notation of the damage, pictures were taken immediately in the customer's plant and carrier was notified immediately. Additionally, the load was tarped outside in the middle of winter and there are pictures to verify. In both my and my customer's opinion, there is irrefutable evidence the steel sheets got wet in transit and the claim should be accepted. The total amount of the claim was $6,277.32. Additionally, R&R Express is now demanding payment on the invoice for the shipment totaling $1,050. My company should be reimbursed the $6,277.32 and the invoice for the shipment be voided.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/19/2023

  Hello,

  I am very sorry to hear of your experience. I had reached out to our claims department who restated that the denial of the claim was valid. I will continue to collect more information in hopes of improving the process and improving our customer's experience. I am truly sorry that your experience with us was a poor one. 

   

  Thank you,

   

  Katlin F*********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/19/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Simply saying the claim is justified does not resolve the claim.  Evidence has been provided that the material left the building in good condition.  Upon arrival at customer, material was found to be wet.  Customer did not note the rust on the bill of lading in an effort to not reject the load and have it returned.  He did, however, contact my company immediately to notify us of the rust.  This wasn't a case where the customer did not report the problem for an extended period of time; rather he called us immediately to notify us.  The customer is a very small business and was trying to do the right thing by not denying the shipment.  Just because he unloaded the truck and rather than noting on the bill of lading, he called us immediately does not change the fact the material arrived wet and rusted. 

  Additionally, your sales representative, Austin F*****, mistakenly copied myself on an internal email saying "Hahahahaha this guy is a clown".  Not only was the claim denied in error but your sales representaves comments were insulting and hurtful.  No customer should be treated this way.  I cannot upload the email but am copying the content below:

  
  From: Austin F***** ***************************** 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2023 3:53 PM
  To: ***** ****** ******************>
  Subject: Re: please fill out.
  
  Hahahahaha this guy is a clown 
  
  On Wed, Mar 22, 2023 at 4:52 PM ***** ****** ******************> wrote:
  Josh,
  
  I don’t have the following:
  Consignee’s copy-they are an Amish company without email or digital camera-their communication was over the phone and photos of the damage sent by their fabricator
  R&R Load #-Never received this or an invoice for the freight charges
  Copy of the services agreement signed by R&R-never received anything like this
  
  Also, do I need to have the 3rd page notarized?
  
  Regards,
  
  **** ******
  
  SRJ Steel
  **** ********* **** ** ***** ******* ** *****

  
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2023

  Hello,

  Attached is a picture of the load being tarped at the shipper. I see that the load had delivered on 2/23/2023 yet the claim notification has a date of 3/6/2023. While the customer may have called you to inform you, the load wasn't rejected at delivery, the BOL was not noted with any damage and then the email correspondence going back and forth was not enough evidence to prove that the carrier was at fault for damage to the material.

  The claim has been denied. There will not be any further investigation into the matter. As far as the agent's email, I have addressed this with his sales manager directly. 

  Thank you,

  Katlin F*********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/01/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  The carrier states the material was accepted by my customer and nothing was noted on the bill of lading.  That is correct.  However, my customer called me immediately and notified me of the problem.  He admits he should have noted it on the paperwork and rejected the load but was trying to be a good customer and didn't want to reject the material before looking at it after it was off the truck.  The carrier was notified immediately via email and pictures were sent the same day to carrier showing the rust on the material.  Just because the customer off loaded the truck does not mean the material did not arrive damaged.

  As for the reason the claim was not officially sent earlier was carrier told us to hold off on submitting the claim until they investigated further.   On March 22 the carrier finally sent the form to formally submit the claim (see attached email). 

  There is ample evidence of the material leaving the shipper in good condition and arriving damaged.  This claim should be accepted.

  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******